At a variety of commercial, industrial or other sites where flammable materials such as hydrocarbon vapor or grain or coal dust may enter electrical equipment, an explosion proof container, such as an explosion proof junction box, may be used to mitigate the problems associated with the ignition of such materials.
One particular example is during drilling, of a well into a subsurface formation. Mud is circulated down the hole to flow-up the drill bit cuttings. As a result the cuttings are liberated and produced hydrocarbons are flowed to the surface. When the mud and cuttings and hydrocarbons hit the shaker, the mud is cleaned from the cuttings and hydrocarbons are released at the first and the most active stage. The concentration of gas in the air may reach the range between the lower explosive limit (LEL) and the higher explosive limit (HEL), thus an explosive hazard may be created. Thus, an explosion proof enclosure is required for containing a possible explosion inside the enclosure to not let the spark or flame reach the outside environment and create a blow out (or bigger fire) or explosion hazard on the rig.
Present explosion proof enclosures are bulky, expensive, and require a long time for standards and/or regulatory approval. It is, therefore, desirable to provide an improved explosion proof enclosure.